Avenging Angels MC-Book 2

Mason rode to work happier than he could remember being in a long time and he hoped the time at work would go by fast because he couldn’t wait to get back to Katie.

He waved at people he recognized as he passed and didn’t really pay attention to anything being out of place, which would be nearly impossible to tell anyway with all of the tourists around. At least nothing and no one set off his “warning bells”. The summer months were a busy “tourist season” for the small town until the snow got here.

There were several B&B’s around but Aunt Nita has the most popular rentals with her cabin/cottages. Aunt Nita’s diner was not only the only sit down diner in town but it was a very popular choice for many of the tourists that came to the area to hike and enjoy the outdoors to find out about things to see in the area. Mason always thought of it as “gossip central”. Aunt Nita is not a gossip but she does listen! Plus she always tells her guests to come to the diner to “check in” when they arrive in town.

Haven was about halfway up the mountain and had some great hiking trails if you were going in a group. Lone hiking was discouraged because of the wild animals that roamed the area and there were signs posted at the head of every trail as well as along the way.

Mason pulled into the baseyard and parked his bike away from where there was any chance of anyone hitting it as delivery trucks and big rigs went in and out of the baseyard and looked around the baseyard. Most of the truckers had loaded up and left for the day already but there were still a couple of new men that Mason didn’t recognize waiting for their trucks to be loaded or unloaded.

Mason climbed the steps to the office and let himself in. He checked in with Peter before going to greet his uncle. He had been thinking about what he and Katie had talked about and knew he was going to have to talk to his uncle and cousin soon but he wanted to make sure that Peter was going to be okay first. Mason was pretty sure he would be because he had been here alone while his dad had been out sick and Mason had been on the road. He just needed his confidence boosted.

~~~~~~

After Mason left, Katie washed up the dishes from breakfast and returned the kitchen to order. She also looked in her fridge for what she might be able to make for dinner and realized that another trip to the store would have to happen before she could make anything.

That decided, she got a fast shower then got dressed before she stripped the bed and put fresh clean sheets on it. She added the small amount of clothes she had to the load and washed the sheets. She thought about everything that had happened yesterday and while some of it had been very upsetting, it had all ended well and she felt so happy she thought she was going to bust. It also made her think about Evelyn and wondered if they had left Philadelphia yet.

Katie decided to check her email before she called to see if Evelyn had emailed her, not only to let her know what was going on but for any work she had for her to do. When she opened her inbox, at first she was surprised to see that it was completely empty and then she laughed at herself when she remembered that Monitor had set her up with a whole new email account. Not even spam mail was going to come through yet. Well, at least it gave her something to do. She could email all of her clients to let them know she had a new email address.

~~~~~~

Crash woke up to find Evelyn curled against him, her butt pressed firmly against his morning wood, his hand cupping her breast and he instantly got a big smile on his face. She fit against him perfectly and he refused to feel guilty for feeling so good about being with her or where this was going.

He silently said a prayer, “Mary, I will always love you and will never forget the wonderful life we had together but I’ve been so lonely and Evelyn has captured what was left of my heart. Please don’t be upset with me but I want to try to make a life with her.”

Crash couldn’t explain it if he tried but he felt a warm hug at his back and could have sworn he felt someone kiss his ear and somehow, knowing it was Mary giving him her blessing, his conscience cleared and he pulled Evelyn closer.

Evelyn began to wake up when she felt Crash behind her as he gently squeezed her boob and she smiled as she began to stretch and then felt his morning wood pressing into her backside. “Oh, someone woke up horny!” She said softly.

“I’ve got a feeling that it’s going to be a daily affliction with you in my bed and you definitely won’t hear me complaining.” Crash whispered in her ear and then began to nuzzle her neck as he pushed himself up against her bottom..

“Oh honey, if I didn’t need to pee so badly I just might take you up on that but I’ve got to go!” Evelyn said as she began to wiggle her way to the edge of the bed.

Crash moaned but couldn’t blame her. He needed to go too but knew it was going to take him a while to lose his morning affliction before he would be able to pee.

They took turns in the bathroom and Evelyn got dressed in the clothes that Jerome provided. She was just putting on the wig when Crash came out of the bathroom. He had to stop for a minute and catch his breath. The blonde wig had startled him for a moment until he remembered that she was not Mary. The blonde wig wasn’t even the same color as Mary’s hair had been. He had just expected to see Evelyn’s lovely chocolate locks and the blonde wig had startled him.

Crash quickly got dressed while Evelyn put the finishing touches on the disguise then they grabbed their suitcases and left his room. Crash had packed all of his clothes and the things he didn’t want to leave behind and wondered if he would ever be coming back here as he closed the door and made sure it was locked. He would leave the key with Chase just in case.

They went down and had breakfast and Crash said goodbye to some of his friends, saying that he hoped to see them at Sturgis in the fall if not before. Chase came over to say goodbye and wished them a safe trip. They had a few prospects load their things in the SUV they would be using.

Then they joined up with the others that would be going with them on the first leg of their trip and began walking down to the garage. Chase was pretty sure that he was losing his SAA but would keep his position open until Crash let him know for sure that he wasn’t coming back.

Everyone loaded up and as Crash sat down in the driver’s seat, he looked in the rear view mirror to see Evelyn sitting in the back seat and gave her what he hoped was an encouraging smile. They both knew that just getting out of the city was going to be the biggest challenge, if anyone was watching.

“Ready, baby?” Crash asked.

Evelyn nodded “As ready as I can be, love.”

A prospect named Charlie would be riding with them. He was another prospect that would be patching in soon. He was an excellent shot and had proven his loyalty many times in the past year he had been with the club.

He was nowhere near as big as Crash but wasn’t a small person either. He had brown hair and eyes and a pockmarked face and seemed to be a very quiet person but Evelyn could tell he was on constant alert, watching for anything or anyone that might be suspicious.

With a smile, Crash put the car in gear and they pulled out. Everyone in both cars with the women in them were on edge as they all watched for anyone that might be following them or paid them any attention at all as they passed. It was so early that only the early morning commuters were really on the road and Crash, with Cripler driving the “escort car”, soon reached the city limits. Since they were leaving the city instead of entering it, there wasn’t much traffic for them so it wasn’t long before they were on their way to Pittsburg.

They made one quick stop about half way there to fill up on fuel and to take a bathroom break. 5 hours later after they left Philly they pulled into Pittsburg and everyone decided to stop for lunch.

Because they had not spotted anyone following them the whole time they had been driving, Cripler and his car load would turn around and go home via a different route with the prospect, Charlie, that had been riding with Crash and Evelyn. Once the others had left, Crash and Evelyn took off for the next city but after hours of being so tense, they decided to stop over in Cleveland instead of pushing on to Chicago tonight.

“There’s really no rush and like Chase said, we should stop and rest so that we don’t get too tired from driving.” Crash told her. They had already been on the road for about 9 hours and Evelyn was tired and wanted to get out and walk around for a bit, just to stretch her legs.

At least she had been able to stretch out more since they had left Pittsburg because she had been able to sit in the front seat but sitting this long was making her legs cramp. She had called and checked in with Katie to let her know that they were on their way and it had made her feel good to hear how happy the news made Katie.

They found a hotel, checked in and then had dinner. They decided to watch a movie in their room, which turned into a love making session before they fell asleep early. That set the pattern for most of the next week.

~~~~~~

Katie and Mason also started to develop a routine. Mason had come up with “jobs” for Justin to do around his house so that someone would be close by to watch over Katie when he would go to work at the trucking company. His uncle Amos was back to his old self but Mason was helping Peter to feel more confident about being the dispatcher. Mason also talked to his uncle about not being so hard on his son.

“You’ve got to stop finding fault with everything he does. He may not do things exactly like you or I would do it but that doesn’t mean he’s wrong. You need to let him make the job his own, set things up the way it works for him, not like what works for me or you. From what I’ve seen, he’s actually very organized and so far, he hasn’t sent anyone to the wrong place or with the wrong goods.

Every time your door opens, he tenses because he expects you to yell at him and he has far too much respect for you to argue back with you, especially in front of everyone. You are making him nervous and resentful and eventually he’s going to stand up and walk out and I hate to say this uncle but I can’t keep running up here to save you.

Peter is a man now, you’ve got to show him the same respect you show the other men and that he shows you or this company is in trouble. If he makes a mistake, let him fix it. Let him come to you if he needs help. Don’t yell at him and make him look like a fool. Stop scolding him in front of everyone and making him look bad in front of them or they are never going to have respect for him or trust his decisions.” Mason told him.

“Damn, I didn’t realize I was doing that. I’m used to ordering hard headed truckers around. This is why I don’t want my girls working here. Patty’s been helping out with the bookkeeping but she’s wanting to move to Portland and follow her own dreams.

Man, it is going to tear Clara’s heart out and she’s going to worry like mad all the time. Maybe now Clara will ease up on the AAMC if she knows she can count on them to keep an eye on Patty.” Amos shared with him.

“You know we will. Well, unless you have anything else you need from me today, I’m going to go meet Katie at Aunt Nita’s for lunch and hopefully take her for a ride on my bike afterwards. How was the spaghetti the other night?” Mason teased.

“Actually, it wasn’t too bad. Clara is finally learning that tbsp is the abbreviation for tablespoon and tsp is teaspoon but it was still extra tasty!” Uncle Amos grinned at him. “Clara keeps reminding me to bring you home for dinner.” Mason just faked a look of horror that had both men laughing.

“Hahahahaha! Well, she invited me for Sunday dinner but I want to see if Katie’s ready to start meeting family before I accept. Please don’t say anything to Aunt Clara about her yet. She’s still really skittish and I don’t want to have her subjected to a lot of questions that might make her feel uncomfortable. Oh and by the way, she’s being introduced as Elaine so that no one knows she’s here.” Mason said.

“No worries. Mum’s the word. Go! Go take her for a ride.” Amos said with a grin. He may not be as young as Mason anymore but he still remembered what it felt like to be young and in love. Mason was definitely older than Amos had been when he had married Clara but then he and Clara had found a love that is very rare and Amos could only hope that his nephew had found the same.

Mason waved at Peter, giving him a thumbs up through the window as he walked down the hall. He had told Peter that he was going to talk to Amos about easing up on him and letting him make the job his own. Mason stepped out onto the porch that ran across the front of the office and pulled out his phone. He found Katie’s number in his contacts and hit the button.

“Hi!” She answered when she saw his name pop up.

“Hi. I’m just leaving work. Can you meet me at Aunt Nita’s?” Mason asked with a smile on his face.

“I just pulled in actually. I’ll get us a table. What would you like to drink?” Katie said with a big smile on her face. She was hoping he would be able to spend the afternoon with her but if not, she’d go grocery shopping!

“A coke will be fine. I’ll be there in a minute.” Mason said then hung up. He jumped on his bike and left the baseyard. Anxious to see her, he rode to Aunt Nita’s as fast as possible.

Katie entered the diner and Aunt Nita saw her come in. “Elaine! Welcome back. Come on and have a seat. Are you here for lunch?” Nita asked.

“Yes. In fact I’m meeting your nephew, Mason, here.” Katie said, with a huge smile on her face.

“Oh I was hoping you two would find a connection. Mason is more than just my nephew. My late husband, Asher, and I adopted him after his parents were killed so he’s actually also my step son. He stuck by me through some very tough times in my life and he’s definitely a very special person.” Nita said. “What would you like to drink?”

“Mason said he wanted a coke and that’s fine for me too.” Katie said.

Just then Mason pulled up outside and Nita watched as Katie sat straight up, almost bouncing in her seat with excitement as she turned to watch him come inside. She also saw Mason quickly park his bike, pull off his helmet and practically run into the diner. He raised his hand at her but walked straight to Katie, bent over and gave her a kiss and Nita was happy for both of them. All of her boys seemed to be finding their mates. First Apollo and now Sarge. Flash had Gloria, who she heard was pregnant and Thunder had Sally.

That just left Atlas, Rocky, Scope and Diego. Rocky had been another one that she considered her son but he had come to her before she and Asher could do anything about adopting him, just before Asher had been killed. Diego had lived at her house for a while when they were young but he had gone with Robert a lot so she hadn’t gotten as close to him. Although they had never lived with her, she had liked Atlas and Scope from the first time she met them and considered them as “her boys”.

She often wondered if Diego would ever give up his casanova ways and settle down but somehow doubted it. He had seen too much of the seedy side of life and it had left him jaded. It would take a very special woman to win his heart, but Nita always had hope for “her boys” to find the kind of love that she and her late husband had shared.

When Mason straightened up, he saw Nita coming towards them carrying their drinks. She sat them down on their table and he picked her up for their traditional hug.

“I found her Aunty! Isn’t she beautiful?” Mason whispered in her ear.

“I’m happy for you Mason. I had a feeling you two would hit it off.” Nita whispered back before he sat her back on her feet. “Now, what would you two like to eat? I wish I could sit and chat but Carla’s late again. She called to tell me she was going to be a few minutes late but she should have been here over an hour ago.

I had to let Kelly go because she’s called in “sick” one time too many. Last time she did it, which was yesterday, I saw her drive by here and she wasn’t going the right direction to be going to the doctor’s office. While Carla has never been very reliable, she’s the only one I’ve got left and I need to be able to depend on her so that I can get business done away from here. This is the second time she’s been late this week.

I think I’m going to call Apollo and take him up on his offer and ask for some prospects to come help me. If he could just send me one of them or maybe an older rescue girl that doesn’t have a man. I’ve got that studio apartment upstairs where they could stay.” Nita said. “Anyway, I’ve got pork chops for the special today or you can have anything off of the menu.”

“Pork chops sound good to me.” Mason said and Katie agreed.

As Nita headed for the kitchen, Katie turned to Mason. “I wish I could help her but it’s too exposed for me here. I would hate having to leave her during a rush if someone suspicious were to come in and I had to hide or run.” Katie told him.

“I know. Plus you have your own work to do. Did you get everything taken care of this morning?” Mason asked.

“Yeah. I forgot that no one has my new email address yet so except for the final editing on the last project I had going on when I left Philly, I really don’t have much to do until I get more work in. I had that project almost done and don’t have much left to do so I should be able to finish it pretty quickly.

I talked to Evelyn and she said she had something to send me before she left Philly and I explained about Monitor changing my email address and his warning not to go back into it. She said she will resend it but won’t have any wifi to be able to send emails until they stop for the night. She said it looks like they got away free and clear. They stayed in Cleveland last night and left out early this morning.” Katie reported to him.

“It will be good to see them again.” Mason said.

“Oh yeah, I keep forgetting, you know Evelyn already.” Katie said.

“Yeah. In fact she was my first rescue the night I came home from overseas. Apollo and some of the brothers were taking me out to dinner on the way home from the airport. When we walked into the restaurant, Evelyn’s ex had just slapped her and she basically fell into my arms. We took him outside and gave him an attitude adjustment. The cops arrived because someone in the restaurant called them and wanted to arrest us because they thought we were just beating him up but the restaurant manager explained what had happened and they let us go, took her home and put him in jail.

They weren’t supposed to let him out until the next evening and Evelyn said she was going to pack a bag and then go stay with a friend but she fell asleep and they let him out early.

He came home, found her packed bag and her asleep. He slapped her around some more before she managed to push him down, grab the phone and locked herself in the bathroom. She called the clubhouse and we went and got her again. He made some ugly threats towards her but finally gave in and, after a little persuasion, didn’t fight the divorce.

Don’t mention the persuasion part to her cause I don’t think she knows that Rocky went and had a “heart to heart” talk with him and convinced him to let her go.” Mason grinned and Katie grinned back. Mason didn’t tell her that Rocky’s “heart to heart talk” was done with his fists and her ex’s face and ribs.

“I know she doesn’t know because I’ve heard about what she went through and she’s never mentioned that part.” Katie admitted. “So what about you? How was your morning?” She asked.

Just then Carla finally showed up for work just as Nita brought their food. She was not happy with her employee but wasn’t going to light a fire under her ass until she had a chance to call Apollo and find out about getting a prospect or maybe an older rescue girl up here to help before she let Carla go. Waltzing in when the rush was already in full swing was just not acceptable.

Thankfully it was a slow day so far and once she was punched in, she told Carla “Watch the floor. I need to use the ladies room. I haven’t been able to go since I got here this morning.” Nita said. It was plain to those that knew her that she was not in a good mood but Carla either didn’t care or didn’t pick up on it.

“Where’s Kelly?” Carla asked.

“She doesn’t work here anymore.” Nita said but didn’t expand on that as she went to the restroom and then to the back where her office is located.

Mason and Katie watched Carla mouth “Oh shit!” Then she picked up the coffee pot and started making rounds.

“Maybe she’ll realize that she’s on a short leash now.” Katie said quietly.

“Nope. She’s already history if Aunty can get Apollo to send her some help. Aunt Nita doesn’t get mad very often but right now, she’s fit to be tied. She pays well, lets her employees eat free when they work and they get to keep all of their own tips.

She purposely worked with Carla because she has a little one in school. That’s why she scored the lunch shift instead of having to find someone to get her kid to school in the mornings but Carla is lazy and only does what she absolutely has to do. She’s constantly calling in sick or coming in late and I don’t blame Aunty for being fed up. She works hard and deserves to have the help she’s paying for.” Mason said. He tried to not show it but Katie could tell that it pissed him off that Carla was taking advantage of his aunt.

In an effort to change the subject, Katie asked. “So did you get everything at work taken care of or do you have to go back?”

“I’m all done for the day. I even talked to Uncle Amos about letting Peter take full charge of being the dispatcher and to stop criticizing him. He said he had not realized that he was doing it and promised to let him make the job his own. I think he’s having a hard time seeing his kids grow up as much as my aunt Clara is.

He said Patty, his oldest daughter, is wanting to move to the city. He said that it’s Aunt Clara that’s having a hard time letting her go and that may be true but I think it’s true for him too.” Mason said.

“I saw a young man go to your place after you left this morning. Was that your cousin too?” Katie asked.

“Yeah, that’s Justin. He’s Uncle Amos and Aunt Clara’s youngest son. He just graduated high school early. Good kid. There’s one more girl, Nicole. She’s 16 and growing up fast. Getting them to let her go is going to be really hard. She’s pretty as a picture and as sweet as can be but also has a temper when they push too much and like all McCandles, is not afraid to speak her mind.” Mason told her.

“They sound like typical teenagers.” Katie said.

“Yeah. “Patty and Peter are both adults now but have always been the quiet two of the bunch. Justin and Nicole are both more outgoing and verbal but never disrespectful or rude. Peter is the really quiet one of the bunch but even he will reach the end of his rope and rebel.” Mason grinned at her.

“So does this mean you have the afternoon free?” Katie asked hopefully.

“Yep and I was kind of hoping that I could convince you to go for a ride on my bike with me?” Mason asked.

“Oh yeah! I would love to! I’ve ridden a dirt bike before but I’ve never been on the back of a Harley! But wait. Doesn’t that mean something in the biker world?” Katie asked, trying to keep the hope out of her voice.

“Yeah. Only a bikers’ lady or ole’ lady rides behind him. I had been hoping for a little more romantic setting but will you be my lady, Katie?” Mason asked hopefully. He really wanted to ask her to be his ole’ lady but knew it was too soon. Besides, he had to get her ring and her cut. And he definitely wouldn’t be doing his proposal of marriage in the middle of the lunch rush in Aunt Nita’s diner.

His heart soared when she nodded her head. “Yes.” Neither of them thought it was possible to feel more happy than they did right then. Now Katie knew he was serious. “I feel like I should be giving you a go steady ring or something. What size ring do you wear?” Mason asked, hoping he wasn’t giving away the fact that he wanted to propose to her.

“Hahahaha! That would be nice but is really not necessary but I wear a size 6.” Katie laughed but secretly hoped that when he gave her a ring, it would be an engagement ring.

Just then Nita came back into the dining room and the expression on her face was of relief. She told them that she had gotten in touch with Apollo and he said he would have Billy up there in less than two hours.

~~~~~~

Apollo’s phone rang and he was surprised at first to see that it was Aunt Nita calling. Since it was unusual for her to call the clubhouse, he immediately thought that something was wrong with Katie.

“Hey, Aunty. Is everything okay?” Apollo answered the call.

“Yeah, Katie is fine. In fact she’s here having lunch with Mason. You should see them. It’s so sweet. They both have little cartoon hearts coming out of their heads.

But what I’m calling about is, were you serious when you said you could send me a prospect to help me in the diner until I can find more reliable help? I had to let Kelly go and I’m on the verge of letting Carla go too. She called and told me she was going to be a few minutes late but then waltzed in here over an hour late. I need someone I can depend on to be here and to do the work.

What if Katie had called and needed help? I can’t always just leave the diner.” Nita said and Apollo could hear her frustration. He didn’t like to hear that she was being stressed out like this. Not when he could easily fix it.

“I’ll have Billy up there within the next two hours. He’s 16 and a fairly new rescue but he’s a hard worker. Quiet and keeps to himself most of the time and doesn’t need constant instruction.” Apollo said.

“Hell, then he’s already got more going for him than both Carla and Kelly. Send him up. He might need to clean the studio himself because I just don’t have time to do it for him but the bed is fairly comfortable and there’s a nice TV up there. Thanks, Apollo.” Nita said. She knew she could always count on him.

“Heck, Aunty. Don’t you worry about a thing. You took care of us when we needed you and now it’s our turn to return the favor. Love you.” Apollo said as he hung up.